One of the things I love to do with this blog is to use my science background (I have an M. Ed in science education and used to be a middle and high school science teacher) to create new play recipes that are safe - and if possible, that are edible (I love the idea of creating sensory play that is great for all ages so that babies and toddlers can join their siblings in play without having to miss out on the fun). So far I've developed a Safe/Edible Glow Water, and Edible Mini Water Beads (with no choking hazard!), and an Edible Pretend (Melting!) Ice Cream Dough. We love to play with slime and gak around here and one of my toughest recipes to develop was this one - a totally edible and chemical/borax free slime. It's no cook, super easy, and takes less than five minutes from start to finish! I'm super proud of it (and spent many hours experimenting in our kitchen to get here) and I hope you all love it as much as we do!

Like any great slime it's suuuuper stretchy!

It oooooooozes.

You can grab it with two hands and just pick it right up off a table.

It feels so soft and slightly cool (in that way that slime always does)...sometimes you just gotta wrap your entire forearm in it.

As S will tell you, it always helps to make crazy faces when you're playing with slime. :)

So so so fun!

For the first time ever, X was able to touch our slime (here he's just over a year - at that age I still didn't trust him not to taste, so he had to sit out during former slime plays). He had a great time poking it with his fingers then slowwwwly lifting them up and watching the slime fall over and over.

Measure 1/4 cup of basil seeds into a bowl and add one full 16oz box of cornstarch (cornflour). Mix them together (kid hands are really good at this part). Add food coloring (if desired) to 2.5 cups of water. Add the water to your cornstarch and seed mixture and stir well. I find that it's easiest to do this part with my hands. You will ultimately end up kneading the slime like bread dough as over the span of 5 minutes, the seeds will begin to absorb the water and it will begin to thicken the mixture. If you find any clumps of seeds while kneading, break them up with your fingers. Once the slime is completely uniform feeling - you're good to go!

When you're done playing with your slime, store it in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Ours lasted for a little over a week. You may find that you need to knead your Edible Slime briefly before play each time to break up any clumps that may have formed.

All activities here are activities I feel are safe for my own children. As your child's parents/guardians, you will need to decide what you feel is safe for your family. I always encourage contacting your child's pediatrician for guidance if you are not sure about the safety/age appropriateness of an activity. All activities on this blog are intended to be performed with adult supervision. Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when activities call for the use of materials that could potentially be harmful, such as scissors, or items that could present a choking risk (small items), or a drowning risk (water activities), and with introducing a new food/ingredient to a child (allergies). Observe caution and safety at all times. The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any of these activities on this blog.

ASSSIA-- You did it again!!!! Looks amazing and the color.. ahhhh so fun. I was hoping to see this float around later during the day.. but imagine my surprise to see this super amazing post ...Great work and perfect color choice.

Thanks for persisting with your experiments :) Will be giving this a try on the weekend - it looks like so much fun! We'll have to use chia seeds though, no basil seeds to be found here not til later in the season.

This is awesome!!! I've got to get me some basil seeds to play with!! I pinned this to my (CarlaINHouston) Kid's Science board and shared it on my PreschoolPowolPackets Facebook page--I think it's just brilliant!

Love this! Thank you for sharing! I just made Gak last week for letter G sensory tub...wish I had this recipe! I shared a link to your recipe on my blog! I love that you are creating safe, natural and edible sensory recipes!

Any basil seed will work - however hairy basil is the one that is typically offered as food. You could use the seeds in the seed packets if your kiddos aren't going to taste them, I just worry that planting grade seeds might not be up to the same standards as food grade seeds, if that makes sense. But all basil seeds do this - cool, right?

AMAZING!! I am a pediatric occupational therapist and found your blog doing a search on pinterest for edible sensory play for some of my younger students who have Autism. Your site is an incredible resource! Keep up the great MESSY work! :)

I've just prepared the chia seed recipe (since we had some in the house) for the children i nanny for and even before I placed it in the fridge the kids and I were having a ball with it! A very calming and stimulating activity. We've made oobleck (a.k.a. goop) before many times but the kids have grown bored with it. This slimy twist is just was they needed for a cold, snowy day :) Thank you for sharing!

Awesome! The basil seed slime is like twenty times better if you ever get a chance to make it! For some reason the chia seeds lose water as you play, but the basil seeds are hardier and hold on to it. So so glad to hear they loved it! :) :) :)

This slime is absolutely AMAZING!! My 2.5 year old twins (and my husband!) played with this all morning. NO other sensory activity has kept their attention so well! Thank you so very much for sharing this. :)

Have you tried adding glitter to this or is it the type of slime that just wouldn't hold it and then end up getting glitter everywhere? Just purchased all the products can't wait to make this. Just need some food dye :)

Just wondering if it will work if you put the seeds in a blender or food processor (or maybe even a coffee grinder) and process until they are a powder...then continue as your recipe instructs. Also an ascorbic acid (vitamin c) tablet or two would help as a preservative and give it a longer play-time life. I mean, I don't know about anyone else but at $8 a bag for the seeds....this is really pretty pricey for slime.

I'm not sure if that would work or not (food processing). It may...though I suspect you'll get the best slime with the full seeds as they would add more stability. Great idea with the vitamin C! And yes, if you buy online, the bag is pretty pricey (it's around $1 a bag at our local store), but it also lasts for quite a long time - so it will make several batches of slime.

Can you show me a picture of what the bag of hairy seeds looks like? I tried sprouts here but they don't know what I'm talking about. I called one Asian supermarket and they said they have basil seed but didn't know what hairy basil seeds were.

Oh! If they have basil seeds that's perfect. Those will work. I've seen several different packages - you just want to be sure they are edible (like not from the gardening section), but any basil seeds will do this. :) :) :)

Water is a chemical. Cornstarch and seeds are compromised of many chemicals. Please stop proliferating the idea that all "chemicals" are bad. The title of this post made me seriously doubt your credentials.

I was so excited to try this and even purchased the seeds through your link. Followed directions carefully and ended up with basically a big bowl of green water! Any idea where I mightve gone wrong because I cannot figure it out!

D ZAD, did you buy the basil seeds off of Amazon - a listing with a big bag labeled "Tukmaria" in yellow? There seems to be a batch of damaged seeds. Let Amazon know and they'll let you return them. That listing has worked for a year, but all of the sudden they aren't working for anyone - and it's all that same brand. I think they must have permanently killed/damaged the seeds somehow and that's why the seeds are failing. :(

We just tried this and big fat flop! We have attempted the basil seed slime and although the seeds absorbed the water they arent sticking together and are still separate? Do I need to add more corn flour for it to become slime?

Love your blog and your slime recipes. However, given your Science background, I'm surprised you call your recipes chemical free. You, of all people, should not misuse the word chemical. ie If it contains water, there is a chemical. http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryfaqs/f/whatchemical.htm

Oh I do -- I know that's annoying, but I have to title based on search terms if I want people to find the posts. People looking for "safe" slimes use the term "chemical free slimes" so that is why it's called that and includes that term in the title/post.